Saturday, June 20, 2015

Some MINE'S Trivia (Part 2)

Recently, I called MINE'S in an effort to get more information about the MINE'S sub gauges - I wanted to know more about their development. Because I didn't have a torque meter gauge (and because Takayanagi-san's memory of whether they even made one was fuzzy), we talked only about the boost gauge and the oil temp gauges.

You can see them compared to each other here:

First, the oil temperature gauge. I asked why the number range was different. Was this because MINE'S tuned cars run hotter, for example? It turns out that the reason is actually a very practical one. The OEM oil temperature sensor is not very accurate. However, it is most accurate in the higher temperature ranges, up to 150 degrees C. Thus, the thinking at MINE'S was to simply have the gauge cover those more accurate areas. Actually, if you take a look at the OEM gauges (below) you can see that the OEM oil temperature gauge maxes out at 150 degrees C. So while I haven't talked to NISMO about their scaling, I presume they simply didn't want people thinking it was acceptable to reach 150 degrees. Different philosophies - be more accurate, or have a built in safety margin.

Second, the boost gauge: The biggest difference here obviously is how the MINE'S gauge STARTS at 0 kg/cm2, unlike the NISMO one, which reads BELOW 0 when the car is not moving/turbos not spooling.

The NISMO one thus indicates negative pressure, which, if you recall is clearly shown on the OEM gauge:

So when driving around town, the lack of a needle moving on the boost gauge is actually quite disconcerting, because throughout my GT-R ownership, I guess seeing that needle move has become ingrained.

So I think I will keep both the MINE'S gauges for a while. I suspect like most people, I don't really use the gauges except for the occasional glance, plus the bling is nice. I don't expect any greater accuracy (because I'd be in big trouble if the engine temperature gets up to 150) so for now I'll consider this a cosmetic mod. I DO miss the boost gauge's negative boost movement so we will see about whether I change back to the NISMO one at some point.

And speaking of some cosmetics, I have a couple of projects in mind....

6 comments:

Johnny
said...

Hello! I guess you dont remember me but i commented last year on a post and said i would sell my R33 GTR. But you and your blog increased my interrest again so im driving it again this summer, and its a lot of fun! Love these cars we have :) But i have had in my mind for a long time to change wheels.Now i have a old set of Volk CV-Pro's 18x10 and thinking about something more modern. I like the SSR GTV02 or maybe 01. Would like to hear your opinion..Do you have a mailadress? Thanks!/J

Just found this Mine's din meter on Yahoo auctions (http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k186031275). Pretty unique but don't get why they put a volt meter in, instead of the torque meter. And also wondering why its white considering as far as i know Mine's never made a white 320km/h combination meter to match it with!

Yep, saw that too. I suspect that is a voltmeter from the R32. Actually I think all 3 gauges may belong to a 32, as the torque gauge is in the main cluster of the 32? Good point thought about them being white... the seller DOES claim they are rare but I agree, weird....

Hi Aki,Great blog. I have been following your exploits for years and share your same passion for the R33 GT-R. I recently came across an old Japanese tuner magazine published in August 1998. It shows all the Mine's sub gauges for sale on page 160. If you're interested, the magazine is called スカイラインGTーR―チューニング&ドレスアップパーツカタログ (GOLD MOOK). An online search shows plenty of results for 2nd hand copies. Keep up the great work! I look forward to following more of your adventures! Cheers